FROM 

GELES  GARDEN 


By  Olive  Perci 


* 


LEAF-SHADOWS 
AND  ROSE-DRIFT 


LEAF-SHADOWS 
AND  ROSE-DRIFT 

BEING  LITTLE  SONGS  FROM 
A  LOS  ANGELES  GARDEN 

BY  OLIVE  PERCIVAL 


CAMBRIDGE  :  PRINTED  AT 

THE  RIVERSIDE  PRESS 

MDCCCCXI 


COPYRIGHT,   I9II,   BY  OLIVE  PERCIVAL 


Thanks  are  due  The  Butterfly,  The  Lotus, 
;&r0ai?  Set,  The  'Graphic  and  Sunset,  for 
permission  to  reprn:  certain  of  these  poems 


TO 
CLARISSA  GRAVES  PERCIVAL 

WHO  LOVED  A  GARDEN  IN  THE  BERKSHIRE  HILLS 
AND  TO 

HELEN  MASON  PERCIVAL 

WHO  LOVED  A  GARDEN  IN 
THE  MIDDLE  WEST 


The  Down-hyl  Claim, 
Los  Angeles,  1911 


And  now  my  joy  I  in  my  garden  take  ; 

1  want  not  wealth  nor  power  ; 

Through  life's  long  hours^  P II  stroll  and  think 

and  pause 
Before  each  little  flower. 

TAO  CH'IEN, 
Fourth  Century  A.  D. 


SPRING 

THE    DISTURBERS 3 

SOUTHERN    CALIFORNIA      ....  4 

STAR-RISE 5 

IN    POSSESSION 6 

THE    CHEROKEE 7 

REHEARSAL 8 

APRIL 9 

BABY    BLUE-EYES 10 

THE    NEW    MOON n 

THE    BEAUTY   OF    GLAZENWOOD      .         .  12 

ALIEN    SPRING 13 

BROKEN    TRYST 14 

OUTSIDE ,5 

IN    THE    FOOTHILLS Z6 

HER    SYMBOLS ,17 

SUNSET    SKIES  xg 


vii 


EMBERS 19 

LILACS 20 

GARDEN    MAGIC 21 

THE    CHARM    GIVER 22 

THE    FAVORITES 23 

THE    MIRACLE 24 

YOU 25 

RELEASE 26 

THE    ROSE-ARBOR 27 

MAY    NOON      .         .         .         .         .         .         .28 

SUMMER 

UNDER    THE    TREES      .      ^.         .         .         .  31 

JUNE.                                              ....  31 

THE    PLUMBAGO    HEDGE     ....  33 

TREES    AFTER    DARK 34 

THE    HUMMING-BIRD 35 

LOST 36 

MAGNOLIAS 37 

MY    HILL 38 

viii 


SILENCED 39 

DISILLUSIONED 40 

ENVY 4I 

JULY 42 

HANDICAPPED         ......  43 

UNDER   THE   JACARANDA    TREE      .         .  44 

DISLOYALTY 45 

THE    PIONEER 46 

A    COUNTRY    ROSE-HEDGE          ...  47 

ESCAPE 48 

FAVORITISM 49 

LIFE 50 

FOREST    FIRES         .         .         .         .         .         .51 

AMARYLLIS 52 

A    CHOPIN    NOCTURNE                                    ,  53 

CLOWNS 54 

THE   LILY-POOL 55 

CONVALESCENCE 56 

BREATH   OF    THE    WEST      ....  57 

AUGUST    NIGHTS 58 

ix 


RETROSPECT 59 

MOONRISE 60 

SABBATH 61 

DEFEATED 62 

SUMMER    VIGIL 63 

AUTUMN 

WINTER'S    APPROACH 67 

SEPTEMBER    AFTERGLOW  ...  68 

AUTUMN    VICTORIES 69 

DO    YOU    REMEMBER 70 

LIFE'S    PATCHWORK      .  ...  71 

THE    POET    AND    THE    PHILOSOPHER      .  72 

OCTOBER    AFTERNOON         ....  73 

THE    SECRET  .  74 

NOVEMBER 75 

DISCIPLINED 76 

MYRTLE 77 

UNFORGETTING 78 

THE   LAST    ROSE 79 

x 


THE    MEADOW-LARK    .         .         .         .         .  80 

RESIGNATION 81 

SUNSET    CLOUDS 82 

OUTLIVED 83 

NOVEMBER'S    ROSE-DRIFT,       ...  84 

WINTER 

THE    FIRST    RAIN 87 

WINTER    TWILIGHT 88 

THE    REMEMBRANCER         ....  89 

A    WINTER    MORNING 90 

THE    PAST 91 

TRANSMUTATION 92 

IN    THE    RAINY    SEASON      ....  93 

VALUES 94 

ASHES   OF    ROSES 95 

A    RAINY    SUNDAY 96 

IN    WINTER 97 

CLEAR    SKIES 98 

PREJUDICE 99 


READING    IN    THE    GARDEN       .         .         .100 
A    CHRISTMAS    DAWN  .     101 

DUALITY 102 

THE    SCHEME    ENTIRE         ....     103 

THE    READER 104 

POINTS    OF    VIEW 105 

TO    A    YEIZAN    COLOR-PRINT     .         .         .106 

OLD    BOOKS 107 

DESTINY 108 

FEBRUARY 109 

MONA    LISA no 

PAGANISM in 

AFTER    THE    RAIN 112 

YELLOW    TANAGERS 113 

GRAY    DAYS 114 

A    LOS    ANGELES    SUNSET    ....     115 

ADEQUATE        .         .         .         .         .         .         .116 

THE    END  117 


SPRING 


THE   DISTURBERS 

My  garden  is  a  quiet  place ; 

It 's  strange  I  cannot  read  : 

But  O  there  are  so  many  dreams 

And  visions  one  must  heed  ! 

The  roses  whisper,  whisper ;  and  all  the 

towhees  talk ; 
Then  O  the  dancing  shadow-leaves  on  the 

mossy  walk ! 


SOUTHERN   CALIFORNIA 

Throughout  the  year,  with  ev'ry  dress, 
With  veils  of  light,  of  haze,  of  gloom, 
She  wears  her  regal  bridal-wreath 
Of  Eden-scented  orange-bloom. 


STAR-RISE 

The  radiance  of  the  young,  young  world  is 

paling ; 

Grove  and  garden  forget  to  sing ; 
For  through  the  spring-scented  twigs  of  gray, 

gray  fig-trees 
Glows  the  white  ev'ning  star  of  spring! 


IN   POSSESSION 


Skies  and  hills  and  trees  are  mine ; 
O  the  beauty  of  the  Spring  ! 
Day  of  fragrant  quietude  ; 
Night  of  silences  that  sing  ! 


THE   CHEROKEE 

Through  the  lilac  mist  of  April  twilight, 
My  roof  gleams  white  with  its  fairy-snows 
That,  under  tropic  sun,  melt  all  too  quickly 
O  wonder-beauty  !   O  magic  rose ! 


REHEARSAL 

The  little   flow'rs  in  the  sweet  and  spear- 
straight  grasses 

Devoutly  nod  and  sing,  in  primal  ecstasy ; 
All 's  repetition  of  Botticelli  springtimes, 
Of  southern  Aprils  long  ago,  in  Italy! 


APRIL 

O  !  when  the  great  sky  is  blue,  blue,  blue, 
And  the  winds  blow  straight  from  the  sea; 
O  !  when  the  canyons  are  sweet,  sweet,  sweet 
With  the  springtime's  old  pageantry  : 
It 's  then  from  under  a  roof  we  must,  sing 
ing,  wander  far, — 

Forgetting  sphinxes  and  riddles,  from  dawn 
to  sunset-star  ! 


BABY    BLUE-EYES 

Not  for  the  sunshine-daisies 
But  for  you  all  my  praises, 
Tenderest  flowers  of  blue  ! 
Eyes  o'  my  dear  dream-children, 
Wet  with  the  tears  of  spring  dew 


10 


THE   NEW    MOON 

Above  the  gum-tree's  silhouette, 
In  sky  of  pale,  pale  gold, 
Night  lifts  an  Indian  silver  ring, 
Her  broken  bracelet  old  ! 


ii 


THE    BEAUTY  OF  GLAZENWOOD 

Sunrise  sky  and  the  sunset  sea 

Are  here  in  the  heart  of  this  my  inconstant 

rose  ; 

All  youth's  glamor  and  youth's  appeal ! 
Does  beauty  suffice,  O  rose  of  a  day  ?  Who 

knows  ? 


ALIEN   SPRING 

The  high,  high  hills,  the  green,  green  hills, 
The  snow-white  clouds  from  the  western  sea 
Are  now  my  metaphor  of  spring ; 
But  once  it  was  the  anemone  ! 


BROKEN  TRYST 

Through  the  white  dawn-mist  of  April, 
(A  bird  sang  somewhere  near  !) 
To  the  old  rose-tree  I  hurried ; 
I  called  —  O  did  you  hear  ? 
I  touched  a  red,  red  rose  —  the  petals  shed ; 
Then  —  then  I  remembered  that  you  were 
dead! 


OUTSIDE 


The  beauty  of  April's  miracle 
Once  brought  ecstasy ; 
But  since  I  'm  by  joy  forgot,  it  is 
Formal  pageantry  ! 


IN   THE   FOOTHILLS 

On  a  wonderful  day  like  this, 
The  first  of  the  spring, 
Do  you  know,  O  My  Love%  a  song 
That  is  perfect  enough  to  sing  ? 

O  My  Love,  O  My  Love,  alas ! 
The  beauty  of  spring, 
Though  in  every  rose  and  vine, 
Is  in  none  of  the  songs  men  sing ! 

On  a  radiant  day  like  this, 
The  first  of  the  spring, 
Only  flowers  and  clouds  and  birds 
With  adequate  gayety  sing ! 


16 


HER   SYMBOLS 

Gardenias  are  hers  and  the  orange  ; 
Jasmine  and  the  long  fairy-lace ; 
The  daphnes  j  magnolias  ;  tuberoses  ; 
Lilies  of  a  mystical  grace  ! 
Sweet,  sweet,  sweet  are  Her  Flowers  ! 

Bride-roses  are  hers  and  the  daisy ; 
Wake-robins  and  dawn-flowers  pale  ; 
Azaleas  that  glimmer  like  moon-mist ; 
Iris  and  the  shy  virgins-veil ! 
White,  white,  white  are  Her  Flowers  ! 


SUNSET   SKIES 

My  garden  is  flaunting  ten  thousand  roses 
But  perverse  am  I :  I  love  the  best 
Those  heavenly  fields  of  azaleas,  iris, 
Now  abloom  for  all,  above  the  west ! 


EMBERS 


Laugh  not  at  me,  Little  Children, 
For  I  'm  as  young  as  the  Spring ! 
See  the  red  silk  of  the  prune-tree  ! 
The  sheen  of  the  blackbird's  wing  ! 


LILACS 

Sweet  are  the  lilacs  of  that  far-off  spring ; 
Sweet  is  the  voice  of  one  long  dead ! 
Fragrance  of  lilacs  to  my  heart  must  bring 
Pain  honey-sweet,  uncomforted  ! 


GARDEN   MAGIC 


April-night  and  my  garden  tell  their  secrets 


to  me, 


For  I  watch  by  the  pool,  beneath  a  dead 
olive-tree. 

White-magic  is  learned  from  an  imaged  star ; 

And  sorcerer's  spells  from  the  basil-jar. 

But  it 's  heigh-ho !  It 's  heigh-ho  !  I  none  dare 
tell, 

But  the  white  birds  and  blue  moths,  at  matin- 
bell ! 


21 


THE   CHARM    GIVER 

As  I  was  hurrying  up  Life's  hill, 
Once  on  a  May-morn  fair, 
With  all  my  dreams  and  in  search  of  Joy, 
I  met  with  Goody  Care. 

She  waylaid  me  with  horror-tales 
And  took  my  toys  from  me ; 
But  then  at  parting  she  gave  a  charm, 
Called  Perfect  Sympathy  ! 


22 


THE   FAVORITES 

O  there  are  roses  white  in  my  garden, 
White  as  a  bride-dress,  white  as  a  shroud  ; 
And  there  are  flawless  roses  beside  them 
Pink  as  a  shell  is,  or  sunrise-cloud ! 

O  there  are  roses  red  in  my  garden, 
Redder  than  war  is,  redder  than  wine ! 
But  yellow  roses,  yellow  as  sunset, 
They  are  the  roses  that  I  call  mine ! 


THE    MIRACLE 

My  heart  was  full  of  painted  toys, 
The  dreams  of  dreams  and  childish  joys  ; 
Forlorn,  forlorn,  forlorn  was  I, 
When  Love  came ! 

But  miracle :  my  world  made  new ! 
New  stars,  new  dreams  that  all  come  true ! 
I  'm  singing,  singing,  singing  now 
Since  Love  came  ! 


YOU 


You  are  akin  to  the  singing  morn 
And  to  the  peace  of  noon  ; 
O  you  are  one  with  the  burning  sun 
And  with  the  wearied  moon  ! 
Many-mooded  as  sea  or  fire  : 
Only  you  are  my  one  desire ! 


RELEASE 


Song  of  bird  and  pinkest  dawn, 
Scent  of  rose  in  air  ! 
Over  seas  my  love  is  gone 
And  I  do  not  care  ! 

Old,  old  call  of  chanticleer, 
Maids  bid  me  arise  ; 
I  must  up  and  sing,  for  fear 
Of  my  Mother's  sighs  ! 


THE   ROSE-ARBOR 

White  boughs,  white  boughs, 
Bent  with  the  Maytime  snows  ; 
White  heaped  the  path  : 
Drifts  from  a  Banksia  rose  ! 


17 


MAY   NOON 

The  little  parks  have  lost  their  Eden-green ; 
The  town  's  all  a  blatant  show  ! 
Where  is  the  wonder  of  the  almond-bloom  ? 
O  where  did  the  Springtime  go  ? 


SUMMER 


UNDER   THE   TREES 

My  garden  has  many  whisperers 

And  gossips  very,  very  dear ; 

(Their  charm  the  graceless  only  can  forget !) 

O  every  time  I  listen  I 

Leave  off  the  old,  subverting  fear 

And  cease  to  be  but  a  marionette  ! 


JUNE 

When  the  pepper-tree  trails  her  lace  in  the 

dust 

And  the  roses  rest ; 
When  at  dawn  and  at  dusk  the  frogs  whir  in 

tune 

And  the  rain-gods  jest : 
It  is  June,  white  June  ! 


THE    PLUMBAGO    HEDGE 

I  wake  and  with  bewildered  eyes 

Behold  the  summer,  noonday  skies, 

Lying  in  little  blossom-flecks  along  the  wall 

It  is  a  sign  for  me,  I  know, 

Of  many  heavens  here  below: 

Radiant,  tender  harmony  awaiting  all ! 


TREES   AFTER   DARK 

Close  against  the  old,  old  mystery 

Of  the  blue  night-sky, 

Stand  black  and  tall  the  eucalyptus  trees  ; 

They  sway  like  marching  spearmen  in  the 

breeze ; 

And  aloof,  like  idlers,  live-oaks  stand, 
Watching  them  go  by  ! 


34 


THE   HUMMING-BIRD 

Did  you  see,  did  you  hear  that  green  glint 

of  a  bird, 

The  pomegranates  over  and  under  ? 
O  a  garden  is  ever,  each  day  in  the  year, 
A  place  of  Edenic,  sweet  wonder ! 


35 


LOST 


For  a  little  mountain-brook,  snow-cool, 
Through  these  desert-years  I  grope; 
But  all  is  mirage,  mirage,  mirage 
And  deliria  of  hope  ! 


MAGNOLIAS 

Brimming  with  the  sweet  of  a  tropic  summer 

Are  the  blossom-cups  white  of  the  magnolia- 
tree ; 

Drugged  with  dreams  are  they  of  enthralling 
sorrows, 

Of  incredible  joys, — by  a  far,  far,  moonlit 
sea! 


MY   HILL 

Between  the  brown  and  oak-plumed  hills 

Is  the  hill  of  my  dreams,  desires ; 

All  day  a  realm  of  blue,  blue  mist 

And  at  sunset  all  opal  fires. 

Ah !  the  feet  of  the  heedless  its  paths  have 

found  ; 
But  for  me  it  is  ever  forbidden  ground  ! 


SILENCED 

Last  night,  the  gray  bird  sang  by  its  nest 
In  the  jewel-green  camphor-tree  ; 
The  nest  now  is  cold;  silent  the  bird; 
O  the  pain  of  death's  mystery  ! 


39 


DISILLUSIONED 

Time's  poet  and  lover  find  June-days  sweet ; 

Yet  are  they  sadder  to  me 

Than  twilight  pools  where  dead  autumn-leaves 

float; 

Than  sobs  that  die  in  a  violin's  throat ; 
Or  winter's  white  pageantry ! 


40 


ENVY 

I  would  that  I  were  an  early  riser, 

Up  and  alert  before  dawn ; 

Then  would  I  know  the  long  story 

That  you,  my  dear  Morning  Glory, 

Hear  from  that  bird  on  the  lawn  ! 

I  would  that  I  were  a  flow'r — and  wiser! 


JULY 

Bleached  the  hills  and  the  river-bed  ; 
Brown  the  mesa,  where  linnets  sing ; 
All  the  days  are  white  glare,  white  dust, 
O  the  mists  and  the  dreams  of  Spring  ! 


HANDICAPPED 

The  nosegay  Life  handed  me  at  birth 
Is  such  a  crude,  crude  thing  and  strange, 
All  odorless,  thorny,  gaudy  flow'rs  ! 
Who  but  a  god  dare  rearrange  ? 


UNDER    THE    JACARANDA    TREE 

At  all  times  of  the  year,  is  my  garden  a  place 
Where  for  me  many  miracles  come  to  pass ; 
Into    flowers   to-day,    the   blue    sky    I    saw 

change : 
Jacaranda  flowers  upon  the  grass  ! 


44 


DISLOYALTY 

With  gay  nasturtiums  embroidered  o'er, 

Is  Summer's  dusty,  dusty  gown ; 

Lobelia-blue  is  her  jeweled  belt ; 

An  oleander-wreath  her  crown  ! 

All  sweetness,  brightness ;  yet  we  tire  of  her 

perfection 
And    dream  of  winter    verdure,  with  unfair 

affection  ! 


45 


THE    PIONEER 

Nobody  knows  his  name  to-day 

But  far  greater  than  soldier  or  king  was  he ; 

As  in  this  land  of  blighting  sun, 

For  the  future  he  planted  a  tree,  a  tree  ! 


46 


A    COUNTRY  ROSE-HEDGE 

White  dust  of  a  rainless  summer 
And  chill  of  the  fog  at  night 
Are  hard  to  endure, 
O  Roses  ! 

But  winter's  a  gleesome  mummer 
And  all  of  these  months  of  blight 
His  masked  smile  shall  cure, 
Poor  Roses ! 


47 


ESCAPE 

All  the  hills  around  were  high,  were  high  •, 
But  the  sea- fog  broke  the  dream  ; 
And  the  snow-white  bird  flew  by,  flew  by  ! 
See  how  pale  the  death-lamps  gleam ! 


48 


FAVORITISM 

Mourning-brides,   daisies,    sweet-johns   and 

pinks 

And  pretty-maids,  pansies,  snow-on-the-lea ; 
All,  despite  the  white  glare  and  neglect, 
Are  blooming  so  gayly,  daily,  for  me  ! 


49 


LIFE 


An  awkward  scramble  ;  then 

A  song  of  shrill  delight ; 

The  dangers  of  the  nesting-time; 

At  last,  when  comes  the  resting-time, 

A  wounded,  silent  flight : 

The  fate  of  birds  and  men  ! 


FOREST   FIRES 

A  summer  of  white  dust-smother  !   Meads 
All  silence ;  the  foothills  bleaching  weeds  ! 
Garden  and  bee  are  dead  and  pools  are  dry  ! 
Pray  !   Pray  !  For  devil-fires  en  flame  the  sky  ! 


AMARYLLIS 

O  the  world  it  withers  in  the  desert-wind  ; 

(And  three  moons  away  is  the  rain !) 

The  wild-gourd  vine  swaggers   through   the 

roadside-dust, 

Too  content  with  its  white  domain. 
In  my  brown,  drear  garden,  is  a  sudden  pink : 
(Not  a  rose  on  vine  nor  on  tree !) 
'Tis  a  row  of  lilies  and  without  one  leaf! 
O  adorable  bravery  ! 


A    CHOPIN   NOCTURNE 

A  dark,  cool  night  and  over-sweet 
With  tuberose  breath  ; 
A  jeweled  javelin  in  the  heart : 
Ecstatic  death ! 


53 


CLOWNS 

O  the  goggled  hop-toads  are  fat,  old  clowns ! 

All  day,  in  a  fern-bed  so  cool,  do  they  loll 
and  wait 

And  rehearse  their  joke ;  but  at  dusk,  attired 

In  spotted,  green  silk,  how  alert  and  import 
unate  ! 


54 


THE   LILY-POOL 

I   have  heard  of  a   lake,  where   great  ships 

sail ; 
On    whose   shores    twenty   cities  take   their 

pleasure  ! 

I  am  hid  in  a  garden,  to  reflect 
One  white  lily,  a  lonely  woman's  treasure  ! 


55 


CONVALESCENCE 

As  content  and  as  still  as  a  lizard  of  bronze, 

On  the  terrace  I  lie, 

With  beautiful,  rhythmic  dreams. 

Is  it  true  I  once   followed  the   rush   of  the 

town  ? 

And  ne'er  looked  at  the  sky  ? 
How  droll  and  remote  that  seems  ! 


BREATH    OF   THE   WEST 

White  nights,  white  days  drift  by 

And  the  summer  goes 

Under  a  Reckless  sky ; 

The  sunset-sunrise  breath 

Is  of  greasewood,  sage  ! 

O  the  mere  scent-of-rose 

Who  'd  buy  ?  Not  I  !  Not  I  ! 


57 


AUGUST    NIGHTS 

The  garden  *s  parched  and  dusty  flow'rs 
Grow  sweet,  grow  cool  with  dew ; 
The  country  silence  sings  and  brings 
Serenity  anew  ! 


RETROSPECT 

There  is  one  thing  more,  more  futile 
Under  the  moon,  under  the  sun, 
Than  to  water  dead,  dead  rose-vines  : 
It  is  to  weep,  when  love  is  done  ! 


59 


MOONRISE 

The  splendor  of  the  southern  summer-moon, 

new  risen, 
Appalls  like  seraphim,  between  the  trees  and 

hill! 
Unworded,    old,    ancestral    joys    and    fears 

awaken  ! 
In  adoration,  all  the  little  birds  are  still ! 


60 


SABBATH 

I  have  for  mine  a  hidden  sanctuary 
And  there  my  spirit,  on  its  knees, 
Can  say  a  rosary  of  joy's  renewal, 
Beneath  the  ancient,  patient  trees  ! 
Ever-soothing,  ever-healing  is  their  paternal 

voice ; 
And,  made  sweet  by  garden-stillness,  my  soul 

can  sing,  rejoice  ! 


61 


DEFEATED 

I  would  that  my  life  were  the  life  of  a  rose, 
Mere  serenity  my  brief,  brief  lot ; 
And  then  when  the  summer  is  ended  for  me, 
Who  will  know  or  grieve  ?  I  '11  be  forgot ! 


SUMMER   VIGIL 

The  silent,  midnight   lily-garden   is  a  place 

Of  rest,  of  dreams  exalted,  through  the  moon- 
white  hours, 

Of  Night's  great  beauty ;  but  alas  !  one  hears 
the  sigh 

Of  Springtime's  vanished  and  forgotten  little 
flow'rs ! 


AUTUMN 


WINTER'S   APPROACH 

The  tea-rose  hedge  has  such  young,  red 

leaves ; 

O  Summer-blinded,  come  out  and  see ! 
O  hear  the  song  of  the  desert-wind, 
In  praise  of  rain,  of  fertility  ! 


67 


SEPTEMBER   AFTERGLOW 

The  foothills  are  nearer  (such  great,  brown 

beavers  ! ) 
And   arroyo    and   canyon   are  lakes  of  lilac 

mist; 

The  tree-spires  rise  deeply  blue  on  the  mesa ; 
And   the  mountains   encircle   with   chain  of 

amethyst  ! 


68 


AUTUMN   VICTORIES 

The  geranium-seed,  with  white  wings  spread, 
Is  flying  far,  far,  far,  —  now  it  at  last  is  free  ! 
The  chrysanthemums  bold  are  parading 
In  a  triumphal,  a  final  felicity ! 


69 


DO    YOU    REMEMBER 

Do  you  remember 

That  long-ago  September  ? 

The  autumn-leaves  all  wet  with  rain  ? 

The  autumn-daisies  in  that  old  lane  ? 

I  remember ! 

Do  you  remember 

That  desolate  November, 

When  autumn-leaves  repeat  the  words 

Of  Love,  who  died  ere  flew  the  birds  ? 

I  remember! 


70 


LIFE'S    PATCHWORK 

Here  a  hope  and  there  a  hope ; 
Some  songs  and  dreams  are  there  ; 
Here  are  fears  and  there  are  tears, 
Failures  and  a  prayer ! 

Here  a  flower,  there  a  star  ; 
And  here  of  joy  a  shred; 
Here  a  grief  and  there  a  grief; 
Over-wide  the  bed ! 


THE    POET    AND    THE    PHILO 
SOPHER 

"  O  what  is  so  great  as  The  Beauty  of 
Life  ?  "  He  asked  of  The  Sage. 

"  Its  loneliness  only,  Dear  Child ;  for  thy 
soul 's  a  lark  in  a  cage  !  " 


72 


OCTOBER  AFTERNOON 

The  petals  of  the  flow'r  of  time,  the  year, 

Are  falling,  falling ; 

Paler  the  sun ; 

The  sweeping,  unseen  winds  and  mists  of 

fear 

Are  calling,  calling, 
My  youth  is  done ! 


73 


THE   SECRET 

Last  May,  I  filled  the  blue  hawthorne-jar 
With  fragrant  leaves  from  bush  and  from 

tree  ; 

It  is  the  tomb  of  a  girlhood's  joy; 
And  yet  I  call  it  a  pot-pourri ! 


74 


NOVEMBER 

Brown,  brown,  brown  is  the  arroyo, — 

Hill-encircled,  misty,  gold  ! 

Little  leaves  whirl  and  float  in  the  breeze ; 

Leopard-alisos  gleam  through  the  trees  ; 

Still,  still,  still  is  the  arroyo ! 

O  allurements  manifold ! 


75 


DISCIPLINED 

I  took  my  heart  and  I  made  me  a  god  ; 
Home  was  its  name  and  't  was  fair  to  see  ; 
But  life,  the  despot,  as  tribute  claimed  it. 
I  '11  not  appeal  from  the  tyranny ! 


MYRTLE 

In  my  garden  of  bright,  tranquil  hours, 
In  the  gloom  of  the  old  live-oak  tree, 
There  are  shining  some  small,  starry  flow'rs, 
Dimly  blue  like  a  mist-covered  sea. 
Their    name  and  their  fame    is    in  many  a 

book; 
And  yet  how  demure,  deferential  they  look  ! 


77 


UNFORGETTING 

When  they  dissect  my  heart  and  my  brain, 
Do  you  know  what  they  '11  disclose  ? 
Merely  a  farewell  kiss  in  the  rain 
And  a  fragrant  brier-rose  ! 


THE   LAST   ROSE 

Sunshine  pale  and  the  sea-wind 

Touched  my  head  ; 

Life  was  begun. 

Pink  my  heart  glowed  !  Then  rains  fell, 

I  was  dead 

And  summer  done ! 


79 


THE    MEADOW-LARK 

The  praise  of  the  shy,  little  meadow-lark 
Rings  withjcertitude  ; 
Her  tone  is  all  Qrient-pearls  and  gold  ; 
Supreme  beatitude  ! 


RESIGNATION 

Since  her  young  eyes  did  close  in  sudden 
sleep 

My  life 's  a  cloudy  night  o'er  long,  its  dewy 
flowers  scentless  ; 

Through  starless  solitudes  I  plod  alone. 

They  say  the  dawn  will  compensate  for  lone 
liness  relentless ! 


81 


SUNSET   CLOUDS 

The  lost  armadas  of  my  lost  years 
Majestic  float  to  a  saffron  shore  ; 
And  now  at  dusk  they  furl  their  red  sails 
And  drift  in  seas  where  no  breakers  roar  ! 


OUTLIVED 

Deep,  deep,  deep  the  love  of  my  life  is 

buried 

Beneath  heavy  years  of  care ; 
Immortelles  nor  willows  the  spot  adorn  not 
And  no  angel  watches  there ! 


NOVEMBER'S   ROSE-DRIFT 

The  heaped-up  petals  are  sweet,  beneath  the 

blight ; 

All  dying,  dying 
That  which  was  a  rose  ! 
Mere  reminiscence  the  voice-of-earth  to-night 
And  sighing,  sighing 
Of  a  great  repose  ! 


84 


WINTER 


THE   FIRST   RAIN 

O  the  ground  is  rose-pink  with  the  wet  coral- 
beads 

Lost  by  our  old  pepper-tree, 

When  she  joined  in  the  dance  of  the  wind 
and  the  rain  ! 

Pardonable  gayety  ! 


WINTER   TWILIGHT 

The  Marechal  Niel  roses  hang  heavy  with 

rain  ; 

Visitor-robins  are  singing ; 
And  from  the  dispirited  passion-vine  old 
Yellow-jade  lanterns  are  swinging ! 


88 


THE   REMEMBRANCER 

Under  my  window,  a  green  carpet  is  spread  ; 
No  sacred  prayer-rug  and  yet 
Precious  it  is  :  for  on  that  day  in  Mid-March 
You  planted  this  mignonette  ! 


89 


A   WINTER   MORNING 

O  the  rain,  with  her  lute  and  her  mandolin, 

Came  last  night  a-singing  ! 

And  the  garden  made  merry,  her  rosy  bloom 

On  the  paths  a-flinging ! 

Now  vanished  the  singer;  yet  come  and  see 

The  sun-jewels  sparkling  on  grass  and  tree  ! 


90 


THE   PAST 

The  past  is  a  darkened  corridor, — 
Echoing,  chilling,  haunted 
By  Memory's  bats  and  her  dragon's  roar ; 
(Horrid  with  ooze  and  slime  is  the  floor !) 
Who  is  the  man  not  daunted  ? 


TRANSMUTATION 

When  first  I  heard  my  Mother  sing, 
The  tone  was  silver,  white  and  fair  ! 
But  now  the  silver  all  has  crept 
From  out  her  voice  and  o'er  her  hair ! 


IN   THE   RAINY  SEASON 

Long,  long  day  of  winter  rains 

That  sob  and  sob  and  drip,  drip,  drip  like 

tears ! 

Perfect  joy  such  gloom  might  be, 
Sweet  with  roses,  melody  ! 
But  O  the  silent,  the  estranging  years ! 


93 


VALUES 

The  day  was  a  disappointment, 
A  weariness,  a  sorrow; 
But  gazing  at  the  afterglow 
Brings  courage  for  the  morrow : 
Personal  griefs  reduce  to  proper  size, 
Under  the  high  and  tranquil  ev'ning  skies 


94 


ASHES   OF   ROSES 

And  was  this  the  bright  image  of  my  flow'r- 

decked  shrine  ? 
Hollow  brass  fire  discloses  ! 
Desolation  surrounds  :  can  I  forget  my  faith 
And  the  ashes  of  roses  ? 


95 


A    RAINY   SUNDAY 

Long,  long  day  of  tears  and  silence, 
Of  gloom,  of  rain  ; 
Someone's  day  of  joy  and  sun; 
My  day  of  pain  ! 

Ceaseless  drip  of  sighing  palm-tree, 
Though  tears  are  vain  ; 
But,  at  dusk,  a  meadow-lark 
Sings  in  the  rain  ! 


96 


IN    WINTER 

A  perfect  rose,  all  a  silvered-pink, 

Bloomed  by  my  door  at  morn; 

(Life  is  so  sweet,  sweet  ') 

I  went  to  claim  it  at  eventide 

But  winds  had  scattered  it  far  and  wide 

Silent  I  stood,  forlorn ! 

(Is  life  so  sweet,  sweet  ?) 


97 


CLEAR  SKIES 

The  fire  of  the  Christmas-flower  is  quenched 
And  the  earth  is  bright  and  sweet  with  rain; 
The  dragon-fly  crawls  on  top  of  his  leaf; 
Who  shall  sulk  and  who  distrust  again  ? 


98 


PREJUDICE 


December  asserts  my  calendar; 
My  garden  declares  it 's  spring ; 
I  'd  rather  believe  the  hyacinths 
Than  any  mere  printed  thing ! 


99 


READING   IN   THE   GARDEN 

Along  the  hard,  windswept  paths  of  the  gar 
den, 

December's  brown  leaf-birds  fly,  noisily  fly ; 

Four  Persian  kittens  like  dervishes  chase  them, 

Or  pause  to  pretend  —  who  knows  what  ? 
Who  knows  why  ? 


100 


A   CHRISTMAS    DAWN 

The  bright  marvel  of  the  morning  star  has 

paled  ; 

All  the  world  is  swathed  in  gloom,  in  dreams; 
But  one  steadfast  little  Star-of-Bethlehem 
In  the  songless,  rain-wet  garden  gleams  ! 


xoi 


DUALITY 

Whenever  I  step  from  stone  to  stone, 
,     By  the  ancient  toy-trees  from  Hokusai's 

Japan ; 

Whenever  I  climb  the  wishing-bridge, 
I  remember  I  live  on  a  paper-fan  ! 
But  I  've  searched  by  the  pool  and  by  the 

bamboo, 
All  in  vain,  for  my  fan  !  Now  what  would 

you  do  ? 


1 02 


THE   SCHEME   ENTIRE 

If  I  had  a  rose  plate  and  a  Ming  yellow  jar; 
A  room  full  of  books,  a  Korin  lacquer-box ; 
If  I  had  a  good  cook,  a  new  motor-car, 
A  place  out  of  town,  a  blue   sea  with  some 

rocks ; 
If  just   trifles   like   these   were   mine    for    a 

minute, 
I  would  love  this  old  world  and  want  to  stay 

in  it ! 


103 


THE   READER 

When  all  the  world  is  a  table  of  books 
And  the  night  is  never  ending; 
When  the  big,  white  moon  is  a  shaded  lamp 
And  no  guests  my  time  are  spending; 
When  essentials  like  these  are  arranged  for 

me, 
How  extremely  agreeable  life  will  be ! 


104 


POINTS    OF  VIEW 

My  Mother  derides  as  junk  and  old-iron 
These  Japanese  sword-guards  so  dear  to  my 

heart ; 
She  states  that  they  cost  four  tailor-made 

dresses 
(Which  moths  might  have  eaten  !).    How 

cheap  is  High  Art ! 


105 


TO   A   YEIZAN    COLOR-PRINT 

Ah !  this  is  the  way  I  used  to  look, 
In  the  golden  days  of  august  Japan, — 
In  five  robes  of  crape,  all  cherry-bloom  ; 
With  an  obi  wide  ;  and  a  full-moon  fan! 
Was  I  not  shy  ?  'T  was  fashionable  then ! 
See  my  hair :   how  amazingly  modern  't  was 

dressed  ! 

Look  at  my  hands  !   My  tiny,  red  mouth  ! 
But  the  way  that  I  managed  to  walk  was  the 

best! 
I  remember  my  gowns  were  all  shockingly 

dear 
But  I  had  those  I  needed  (eight  hundred  and 

more)  ; 
So   I   always   looked   pretty,   no   matter   the 

hour; 
And  a  lady  that  pretty  was  never  a  bore  ! 


1 06 


OLD    BOOKS 


My  old,  old  books  that  ever  wait 
In  proud  humility, 
The  emeralds  of  Cortez  great 
Can  never  buy  of  me  ! 


107 


DESTINY 

There 's  never  a  day,  O  Love  of  Mine, 
There  's  never  a  day  for  you  and  me 
To  meet  and  to  rest  beneath  Life's  Pine; 
Forgot  by  The  Seven  Gods  are  we  ! 
Yet  on  the  same  lotus,  with  closed  eyes, 
We  shall  dream  together  in  Paradise ! 


I0g 


FEBRUARY 

Deep  is  my  love  for  the  firelit  hearth, 
The  chosen  book  in  the  quiet  room, — 
Where  I  may  dream  all  the  dreams  of  life, 
Content  to  wait  my  long  night-of-doom ! 
But  there 's  a  lure  in  dimpling  pools, 
The  scent  of  wet  blossom  and  bending  pine ! 
When  skies  come  down  and  touch  the  hill, 
The  ends  of  the  earth  they  at  last  are  mine  ! 
Not  content  am  I  to  gaze  then  through  the 

panes : 
But,  a  king,  I  'm  out  and  away  when  it  rains ! 


109 


MONA   LISA 

(My    Black    Cat) 

At  life  with  student-eyes, 

You  look  in  sweet  surprise 

And  silence  meek ; 

When  will  your  schooling  end  ? 

When  will  you  condescend 

With  me  to  speak  ? 

O  small  Companion  of  my  garden-days, 

How  very  sweet  are  meditation's  ways  ! 


no 


PAGANISM 


O  to  be  a  mocking-bird, 

A  mocking-bird, 

A-singing  in  the  lane  ! 

O  to  be  a  deodar, 

A  deodar, 

A-tossing  in  the  rain  ! 

O  to  be  in  tune  with  life  ! 

O  to  be  in  love  with  life, 

Aloof  from  all  the  pain  ! 


in 


AFTER  THE    RAIN 

Out  in  the  vineyard,  the  larks  are  calling : 

"  Arise,  O  Sleeper,  arise,  arise  ! 

See  San  Antonio's  snow-crown  glisten 

Above  your  radiant  paradise  ! 

The  scars,  the  despairs  of  summer  are  gone ; 

Laughter  is  better  than  sorrow ; 

Arise  and  behold  God's  sky  and  the  hills ; 

Roses  for  ev'ry  to-morrow  !  " 


1X2 


YELLOW    TANAGERS 

The  enchanting  splendor  of  old,  old  Peru 
In  the  lemon-tree  flashed,  one  chill  day  of 

rain  : 

Yellow  tanagers,  many  miles  off  their  course ! 
Will    that    breath-taking    vision    e'er    come 

again  ? 


113 


GRAY    DAYS 

Under  a  sky  of  gray,  flawless  jade, 
Orange-trees  blossom,  red  roses  fade 
And  the  peacocks  scream ; 
Dreams  hurry  back  from  memory's  sea; 
Sunshine  subservient  now  must  be 
To  a  rainbow  gleam ! 


114 


A   LOS   ANGELES   SUNSET 

O  I  saw  our  Three  Mountains  at  sunset 
And  their  snows  were  a  tourmaline  fire ! 
Then  they  glimmered  like  opals  and  faded 
To  dreams,  dreams  of  forgotten  desire  ! 


"5 


ADEQUATE 

After  the  dolorous  gloom  of  The  Rains, 
Red  roses  of  Spring  ! 

Perfectly  praised  is  God's  beautiful  earth, 
For  meadow-larks  sing  ! 


116 


THE   END 

Good-bye,  good-bye 

To  a  day  of  shadowed,  rose-sweet  hours ; 

Bitter-sweet  charm  o'  fallen  leaf. 

Good-bye,  good-bye 

To  my  garden  of  a  thousand  flow'rs  ! 

O  but  the  year  was  brief,  brief! 


117 


If  thy  home  a  garden  has  not 
And  an  old,  old  tree-, 
Whence  life's  daily  joys  can  come, 
Wise  men  cannot  see. 

CHENHAO-TZU:  1783 


CAMBRIDGE  .  MASSACHUSETTS 
U    .   S    .   A 


296624 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


AF-- SHADOWS 

AND  ROSE-DRIFT 

BEING  LITTLE  SONGS 
A.  LOS  ANGELES  GARDEN 

Bi|  Olive  Percival 


